Investment Confidence no Assurance Savings will
Last

December 5, 2006 (PLANSPONSOR.com) - A recent survey
from New York Life Investment Management (NYLIM) found
participants confident in their 401(k) investment decisions,
but still not sure their savings will last in
retirement.

According to a NYLIM press release, the 2006 survey
of 8,958 participants on NYLIM Retirement Plan Services’
platform found 60% of participants agree they are making
correct investment decisions in their 401(k) account. At
the same time, only about half of all participants said
they feel they know how much money they will need in
retirement.

Less than 40% said they believe they are in a good
position to meet their financial goals when they retire,
the press release said.

Data from the survey showed different participant
populations, even within the same company, are interested
in significantly different types of retirement planning
tools. More than 40% of participants surveyed said they
would like someone else to manage their 401(k) account
with their input, while 39% agreed with the statement “I
tend to rely on advice from a professional financial
adviser when making investment decisions about my 401(k)
retirement account.” Forty-four percent disagreed with
this statement and the rest were indifferent.

In addition, 75% of participants surveyed said they
enjoy learning about investing and 68% said they closely
monitor the value of their 401(k) accounts. More than
half of those surveyed agreed that “I am willing to take
on substantial risk if it could mean a higher
return.”

“This research shows us several things – first,
that by emphasizing a retirement account balance instead
of the amount necessary to retire in comfort, we have all
been putting the emphasis on the wrong idea,” said Don
Salama, senior managing director of NYLIM Retirement Plan
Services, in the news release. “Many of these
participants monitor their investments carefully, are
prepared to take some risk and feel they’re making good
decisions, but are still worried they won’t have enough
for the long haul.”